Racks for supporting lasts during the manufacture of boots and shoes



Jan. 3, 1956 REEMAN A. F RACKS FOR SUPPORTING LASTS DURING THEMANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES Filed Nov. 9, 1950 United StatesPatentfOp RACKS FOR SUPPORTING LASTS DURING THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS ANDSHOES Alfred Freeman, Wellingborough, England Application November 9,1950, Serial No. 194,742

Claims priority, application Great Britain November 9, 1949 4 Claims.(Cl. 211-37) This invention relates to racks of the class employed forsupporting boot or shoe lasts at any appropriate stage or stages duringthe manufacture of articles of footwear.

The heel part of a boot or shoe last is formed with a socket adapted forreception of a so-called jack pin such as is customarily provided forthe support of a last on a machine for performing lasting,.nailing, heelattaching, sole levelling or an analogous operation in the manufactureof footwear.

The present invention has reference to last racks of the kind includinga rail furnished with a longitudinal series of upstanding pins adaptedfor engagement in the aforesaid sockets in boot or shoe lasts. With arack of this kind the lasts, in their normal inverted position of use,are simply placed upon the upstanding pins and thereby supported atrequired times-with their-foot portions extending forwardly towards thefront of the rack.

Now, the strictly correct way to take a last with a shoe thereon off anupstanding pin of a last rack is to stand at the front of the latter,lift the last off the pin and then draw the last and the shoe forwardly.In this way the toe of the shoe is prevented from damage. Very often,however, an operator will, for convenience and to save time, attempt toremove a last while standing at the back of the rack. To do this, thelast and shoe, after being lifted off the pin, will, of course, have tobe drawn rearwardly over the top of the said pin. When being drawnrearwardly, however, a last, by reason of its weight, tends to fall as aconsequence of which the toe of the shoe almost inevitably strikes, andmay be drawn over, the upper end of the pin and is damaged. If, as maybe, the upper end of the pin is of pointed form, then the damage isincreased.

The object of the present invention, then, is to provide, in a last rackof the kind herein referred to, an improvement designed positively toprevent a last from falling on to the upper end of a supporting pin andcausing damage to the toe of a shoe in the event of the last being takenoff the pin and drawn away rearwardly by an operator standing at theback of the rack, as will be hereinafter described.

According to this invention there is provided at the back of the seriesof upstanding last-supporting pins, a fixed member or members locatedabove the upper ends of the pins and adapted to constitute a guard orguards for arresting the downward movement of a falling last and supportthe same at a position clear of the appropriate pin.

Thus, when a last with a shoe thereon is lifted off a supporting pin anddrawn rearwardly, the worst that can happen, if the weighty last tendsto fall, is for the shoe to be dragged over the guard, or theappropriate guards, as the case may be. This causes far less damage to ashoe than for its toe to fall upon a pin.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a bar or rodconstituting a single guard rail which extends from end to end of therack and is common to all the upstanding last-supporting pins of theseries. The

said guard rail may conveniently be disposed horizontally and parallelwith the rail to which the pins are fitted, the upper edge of the guardrail being at a level above the upper ends of the pins.

In an alternative arrangement, each of the last-supporting pins isassociated with an individual and comparatively short guard.

It is principally the intention to apply the invention to a last rackfurnished with last supporting elements of the character described andclaimed in U. S. Patent No. 2,466,406 issued April 5, 1949. Such anelement comprises a pin adapted to be fitted in an upright position forengagement in the socket of a last and, integral and spaced rearwardlyfrom the said pin, a support adapted for contact with the opposite sidesof the heel part of the last so as to prevent turning movement thereofangularly about the pin, the formation of the element being such thatunder the weight of its forepart a supported last is free to tiltforwards to the extent of causing points on the front and rear walls ofthe aforesaid socket to bind on opposing points of the pin, for thepurpose specified. The upper end of the pin is of pointed form, beingbevelled at the front and rounded and smoothed off, and the rear supportcomprises downwardly convergent limbs adapted to make contact with theopposite sides of the heel part of a'last.

A series of last supporting elements of this particular form mayconveniently be secured in a longitudinal tubular rail extendingbetweenthe opposite ends of a tubular steel frame furnished with castors.

An emobiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the rack,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail, being a view from the side of a sectionof rack with a lasted shoe component thereon,

Figure 3 is a detail of a from the front, and

Figure 4 corresponds to Figure 3, but is a rear perspec tive.

'lhe rack illustrated comprises a pair of uprights 1 and 2 mounted on acast or otherwise suitably fabricated frame 3 with a basket 4 extendingacross the same. Supported by the uprights 1 and 2 are three shelves ortrays 5 of identical form, one of which is described hereunder.

Thus each tray comprises a frame made up of a transverse back rail 6 andtwo side arms 7 integral with the back rail, these side arms beingpassed through a boss 3 on a sleeve 9 connected to the respectiveupright. Secured to each arm 7 is a pair of brackets 10 serving tosupport an imperforate metal sheet 11 representing the tray proper andhaving an upturned front edge 12.

Last supporting pins 13 and associated V-shaped supports 14 are disposedin alignment along, and respectively welded to the front and rear of,the rail 6. Each pin 13 is disposed in an upright position forengagement in a socket in a last 15 positioned thereon, while thecompanion support 14 embraces the opposite sides of the heel of the lastto prevent turning movement of the latter angularly about the said pin,as is described in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,466,406. Figure 2 of theaccompanying drawings illustrates a last, with a partly-made shoethereon, supported in this way.

In accordance with the present invention a guard rail 16 is associatedwith the set of pins 13 in each rail 6, this guard rail being bent roundat its end parts 17 and secured by welding to the back of thecorresponding rail 6. As will be observed, the guard rail 16 is locatedshortly to the rear, and above the upper ends of, the pins 13 and theassociated supports. Hence, if it should happen that a last with alasted shoe thereon is lifted off a pin 13 and modified form of guard,as seen 3 removed over the guard rail 16, and if--as may be-the weightylast drops, the toe of the shoe will then strike this rail 16 and beguarded from damage by the said pin and the upwardly divergent limbs ofthe associated V- shaped support 14.

In the modification illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 the inclined limbs ofeach support 14 are connected together at their upper ends by a loopwhich is cranked rearwardly as at 13 and includes a horizontallydisposed portion 19, this constituting an individual guard located aboveand at right angles to the corresponding pin '13.

I claim:

l. A last rack comprising at least one rail, a series of upstandinglast-supporting pins on said rail for engagement in last sockets, a pairof divergent last-steadying arms on said rail and associated with eachsaid pin adapted to make point contact with the opposite sides of theheel portion of the last, and a second rail supported by the first railand extending to a position above and to the rear of the upper ends ofsaid last-supporting pins and arms and adapted to constitute a guard forarresting downward movement of a last removed from its support oversecond rail.

2. A last rack comprising at least one rail, a series of. upstanding,l.astsupporting pins on said rail for engagement in last sockets, a pairof divergent last-steadying arms on said rail and associated with eachsaid pin adapted to make point contact with the opposite sides of theheel portion of the last, and a rearWardly-cranked loop connecting theupper ends of each pair of divergent arms and each adapted to constitutea guard for arresting downward movement of a last removed from theassociated pin and lifted rearwards.

3. A last rack comprising a supporting member, a rail carried by saidsupporting member, a series of upstanding 5 last supporting pins on saidrail for engagement in last sockets, means connected to said rail andassociated with each of said pins spaced rearwardly of each pin adaptedto make point contact with the opposite sides of the heel portion of thelast and at least one fixed member supported by the rail extending to aposition above and to the rear of each of said pins and means, adaptedto define a guard for arresting downward movement of the last removedfrom said pin.

4. A last rack comprising a wheeled carriage, a vertical post carried bysaid wheeled carriage, a horizontally disposed surface fixed to saidpost, a horizontally disposed rail attached to said post andhorizontally disposed surface, a series of upstanding last supportingpins on said rail for engagement in last sockets, a pair of divergentlast steadying arms on said rail rearwardly of and associated with eachof said pins adapted to make point contact with the opposite sides ofthe heel portion of the last, and a second rail secured to said firstrail extending to a position above and rearwardly of the upper ends ofthe last supporting pins and steadying arms adapted to define a guardfor arresting downward movement of a last removed from its supportingpin and last steadying arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS GreatBritain Jan. 19, Great Britain June 30,

